The meaning of the word "musical". Musical - what is it?

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Musical is one of the genres of musical stage art. It is a mixture of music, song, dance and drama.

Musical as a musical genre

This genre was born on the basis of operetta, vaudeville, burlesque and comic opera. For a long time it was not recognized as a separate type of theatrical art. The musical is a commercial genre because it is spectacular, bright, difficult to stage, with expensive costumes and special effects.

What is the difference between, for example, a musical from an opera? The opera makes higher demands on the vocal abilities of artists. But in a musical, artists need to not only sing, but also dance. In opera, the singing actors don't dance. In addition, the musical uses various vocal and dance genres - pop, folk, jazz, rock, and so on. The manner of singing is different from the opera.

History of origin

The musical originated in America and was a synthesis of variety shows, French romantic ballet, dramatic interludes, comedy numbers, melodrama and so on. September 1866 is considered the birth of the genre. The very first musical production was Blackstaff. Initially, this type of theatrical art was considered a musical comedy, since these wereentertaining performances where the content was not given much importance. Today, most musicals have a dramatic plot and a literary basis.

Broadway

The most talented people (producers, composers) contributed to the development in America in the 20-30s of the 20th century of such a genre as a musical. These are such personalities as R. Friml, J. Gershwin, R. Rogers, O. Hammerstein, L. Bernstein and others. Many of them were emigrants who left Russia during the years of the revolution. During this period, the American musical underwent great changes - the libretto became more complex, the music acquired a jazz color, the vocal skills of the actors improved.

The most famous Broadway productions of the time:

• "I sing about you" by J. Gershwin;
• "Oklahoma" by R. Rogers and O. Hammestein;
• The Sound of Music by R. Rogers and O. Hammerstein;
• West Side Story by L. Bernstein;
• The Threepenny Opera by B. Brecht;
• "My Fair Lady" by F. Lowe.

The most famous theaters in the world where musicals are staged are Broadway. Broadway is a street in New York with about 40 theaters (the number is constantly changing). Broadway productions are the most famous and successful in the world.

What are Broadway theaters? They are different from what Europe is used to. These are commercial theaters, they do not have permanent actors and directors, they are just buildings with an auditorium. The premises are leased to an entrepreneur who organizesstaging. Actors are selected for each specific performance through casting. Performances run daily and as long as they are successful and profitable. When success and earnings decrease, the project is closed and the troupe is disbanded.

Some musicals live on Broadway for decades.

European musicals

The first musicals appeared in Europe in the mid-1950s. It all started with the production of "Kiss me, Kat!" K. Porter. Although at that time for the European public, musicals were not yet a genre that would be able to compete in popularity with opera and operetta. He gained great popularity somewhat later.

The first musical in Europe to surpass opera and operetta in popularity is My Fair Lady by F. Lowe and A. J. Lerner. In the early 70s, the number of musical productions increased, and now it is the most popular genre in Europe. European productions differ significantly from American ones in terms of music, content, manner of performance and the process of preparing the performance.

The era of E. L. Webber began in the 70s, whose creations have been on the scene for several decades, are the highest grossing and long-playing in the world.

From the end of the 80s of the 20th century, French and Austrian musicals began to appear and gain popularity on the stage.

The most famous musicals in the world today

• The Phantom of the Opera Musical by E. L. Webber;
• Cats by E. L. Webber;
• "Jesus Christ -Superstar” by E. L. Webber;
• “Les Misérables” by K. M. Schonberg, A. Boublil;
• "My Fair Lady" by F. Lowe and A. Lerner;
• The Sound of Music by R. Rogers and O. Hammerstein;
• Cabaret by J. Kanzer, F. Ebb, J. Masteroff;
• "Notre Dame de Paris" by R. Cocciante and L. Plamondon;
• "Mamma Mia" B. Anderson and B. Ulvaeus;
• "Rebecca" by M. Kunze and S. Levay.

Telemusicals

The musical TV movie "High School Musical" is now very popular among young people. It is a trilogy, the first part of which was released in 2006 in America. The High School Musical came to Russia in 2008. The plot is based on a story about young people who dream about the stage. High School Musical begins with the main characters getting to know each other at a party. Then it turns out that they study at the same school and dream of taking part in the school musical performance. In 2007, High School Musical 2 was released - a continuation of the first part. Here, the plot is based on interesting vacations of all the same friends. And a year later, High School Musical 3 was released. In the third part, the plot revolves around a school graduation. The TV movie "High School Musical" includes 9 musical numbers. In our country, in this picture, not only the dialogues were dubbed, as is usually done, but also the songs were sung by our artists in Russian. "High School Musical" holds the Guinness World Record. It became the very first TV movie to have all the musical compositions simultaneously in the Top 100.

Musicals are popular in our countrynew year. Television every year creates such TV performances as a gift to its viewers. New Year's musicals are divided into 2 types. For some, songs were specially created by modern composers and poets. New Year's musicals of the second type are those where old, but still not losing popularity, musical compositions are used. They change the text for the selected plot.

New Year musicals created by modern authors:

• "Cinderella";
• "Evenings on a farm near Dikanka";
• "Sorochinsky Fair";
• "Chasing Two Hares".

All roles are performed by Russian and Ukrainian famous singers and actors.

New Year musicals that use old songs:

• "Morozko";
• "Old songs about the main thing";
• Golden Key.

TV musical "Old songs about the main thing" includes a cycle of 4 films. The main channels that create New Year's musicals are Perviy and Rossiya.